Two Dancing Vipers
by WBAD
Summary: [A short snippet of a future scene from The Assassin's Apprentices.] They were beautiful to watch and enchanting to behold. Two vipers locked in a dance. A man and a woman in the throes of a courtship language only they could understand.


**A/N: This is a scene coming up in The Assassin's Apprentices soon. But while I was in the middle of refining chapter 2, my mind wouldn't let it go, and I just **_**had**_ **to write it down because I found myself stopping in the middle of whatever I was doing just to sit back and imagine this scene unfold.**

 **It won't leave me alone! *screams of a fangirl***

 **So although this will be surely a one-shot, it'll also be a part of the story that is yet to unfold. So it's an excerpt basically. Haha!**

 **Just a note for further understanding on this story:**

 **Lelouch's alias is Zero**

 **CC's alias is Helena**

 **You'll find out why later on as The Assassin's Apprentices progresses...**

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 **Two Dancing Vipers**

It wasn't difficult to convince her father to take her along with him on his official duties to the palace. Kallen had gone more than once. But her insistence to learn more about the Empire's court didn't stem from her personal interest on the subject.

No, it was just her excuse to watch the Emperor's Champion candidates train.

From what she had managed to niggle out of her father, today was the day the candidates would pair off to spar with each other in the training room.

And Kallen loved fights, so she watched with bated breath as each candidate stepped up to the training mat to face off each other. But while the others were interesting, Kallen's attention focused solely on _two_ would-be Champions.

Without a doubt, she had seen the raven-haired young man unmasked before. And she had also taken notice of his constant companion — the green-haired girl with her long hair tied back in an elegant fishtail braid.

The two were conversing with one another quietly, before she heard the telltale whine of blades being unsheathed.

Wait… Were they allowed to use _real_ weapons on a practice match?

But Kallen didn't have time to contemplate on that any further when the clashing of steel began to sing across the training room's cavernous size and vaulted ceiling.

Zero was using a fencing blade, wielding it _unlike_ a fencer however. His movements held lethal grace that ensured death to the unlucky fool who would impale himself on the paper thin needle-point blade. The green-haired girl, (Helena, she was called) chose two long daggers. Given the choice, Kallen wouldn't have wanted that weapon, but the girl used them well. Together as a shield, and both as two swords.

The choice of weaponry were opposites in terms of range, but when the two used them it seemed to work well. Even the ring of steel sliding against one another was oddly an enchanting tune to listen to.

And Kallen watched from the upper balconies as the two fighters engaged each other in what couldn't even be called a proper fight.

These two weren't fighting… They were—

Kallen struggled to find the words as the majority of her stayed riveted to the courtship dance happening in the training room below. The other fighters had stopped practicing and joined her in watching too, as blades twanged and the whisper of calculated footfalls rushed across the mats. They too could hardly keep their eyes off of the sparring pair.

Boy and girl. Man and woman. A _lady_ and her suitor. Vipers in a mating dance.

Kallen didn't suppress the flinch that disturbed her facial expression…

Zero was _fast_. Much _faster_ than he had been when she first challenged him to a match in the fighting pits. He moved like water and struck like an asp. No, he wasn't holding back like _he_ did with _her_. The speed and precision with which he moved and how Helena had no trouble keeping up with it was a testament of the difference between her skills and his.

Kallen prided herself a fierce fighter in the Pits. But Zero- Zero was different... and so was Helena.

She found herself shoving envy's ugly head into the recesses of her mind as she kept watching. Zero easily evaded a two-pronged scissor cut from Helena — a cut that would have sliced his torso in two had he not danced out of the way. His response was to strike _low_. Kallen watched as Helena nonchalantly jumped away from the swipe that would have cut off her legs.

Every move was lethal and _deadly_ , but by the _gods_ , Kallen didn't know how those two could make it look so _teasing_ , and alarmingly seductive.

Now she felt out of place watching this…

Because it didn't seem like a sight for prying eyes. They were in a world all their own where only the sound of steel and whisper of movement held them. It was like watching two lovers dance to the slow melody on a piano.

They were… _beautiful_. Like two snakes slithering around each other, coming together, parting to strike, locked in a secure hold, and parting to start the constant cycle anew.

And apparently, the fight would only end if one of them drew blood. Because that's exactly how the practice duel ended…

Zero managed to snatch one of Helena's daggers from her, took the girl into his arms, held her close to his body, and pricked her collarbone just enough to break the skin and let a bead of blood show. But he only managed to do it when the remaining dagger in Helena's own hand drew blood from the side of Zero's neck.

From her vantage point, Kallen could see the thin trickle skitter its way down Zero's skin. The blood was coming from Helena too.

The fight had ended in a stalemate…

And Kallen didn't know how to feel about that; especially when she had been inwardly rooting for Zero to win. Her own fight with him in the Vaults had been a close one, but she still _technically_ lost.

But just now—

Their lips were moving, speaking to each other in inaudible tones. And Kallen could _have sworn_ she saw Zero brush his lips briefly over Helena's neck — what with how close they were — and how Helena comfortably tangled her fingers in Zero's thick raven locks.

Boy and girl. Man and woman. A _lady_ and her suitor. Vipers in a mating dance...

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 **A/N: Well, this came out vaguer than I expected it to be. And I'm glad. Let's just say I'm saving the details for _later_. Wouldn't want to spoil too much to. Now ya'll have a sneak peek of what Schneizel is offering CC.**

 **God, I just realized this one-shot gave out spoilers. But oh well. I don't regret it.**

 **It was too good of an idea to pass up, or shelve for a later thought.**

 **But anyways... :) Chapter 2 to The Assassin's Apprentices will be up when it's ready. I'm nearly done. ;) But now I have to run, or I'll be late for real life responsibilities. Ciao~**


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